Financial Services Sector to embrace Cloud by 2015: Gartner

Banking CIOs predict half of transactions will be made using Cloud infrastructure

The financial services industry will be using Cloud services to support core banking systems such as data management by 2015, according to analyst firm, Gartner.

A global Gartner Executive Programs annual CIO survey conducted in Quarter 4 of 2010 found Cloud was the top priority for financial services CIOs.

In addition, 39 per cent of these CIOs expected over half of their transactions would be supported via Cloud infrastructure and software as a service (SaaS) in four years’ time.

Full article  http://www.cio.com.au/article/406096/financial_services_sector_set_embrace_cloud_by_2015_gartner/#closeme by Hamish Barwick (CIO)

---

Top IT skills wanted for 2012

By Toni Bowers

September 28, 2011, 4:57 AM PDT

Takeaway: A new Computerworld survey indicates the nine IT skills that will be in demand in 2012.

Nearly 29 percent of the 353 IT executives who were polled in Computerworld’s annual Forecast survey said they plan to increase IT staffing through next summer. (That’s up from 23% in the 2010 survey and 20% in the 2009 survey.)

Here are the skills that the IT executives say they will be hiring for:

1. Programming and Application Development–61% plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months, up from 44% in the 2010 survey. This covers the gamut from website development to upgrading internal systems and meeting the needs of mobile users.
2. Project Management (but with a twist)– The twist is that they’re not going to just be looking for people who can oversee and monitor projects. They also want people who can identify users’ needs and translate them for the IT staffers-the increasingly popular business analysts.
3. Help Desk/Technical Support–Mobile operating systems have added a new dimension to help desk and tech support.
4. Networking-This demand is being fueled partially by virtualization and cloud computing projects. The survey also revealed that execs will be looking for people with VMware and Citrix experience.
5. Business Intelligence-Computerworld interprets this uptick to a focus shift in many companies,  from cost savings to investing in technology. That will be nice if it pans out that way.
6. Data Center-Virtualization and the Cloud could also be behind the increased need for IT professionals with backgrounds in data center operations and systems integration.
7. Web 2.0-Tech skills centered around social media will be in demand, with .Net, AJAX and PHP as key back-end skills, with HTML, XML, CSS, Flash and Javascript, among others, on the front end.
8. Security-Although down from 32 percent in the 2010 survey, security stays a top concern of IT executives.
9. Telecommunications-The survey indicates a demand for people with IP telephony skills, and for those familiar with Cisco IPCC call center systems.

---

No iPhone 5 today, there is "only" iPhone 4s

There was a lot of fuzz going around apple last days. Predictions were clear: There will be an iPhone 5 annoucement! Nothing like that. Apple keeps on its bussiness schedule - every even year there is a new module and every odd one an upgrade is presented. Same come up with new iPhone - its an upgrade of iPhone 4 called iPhone 4s.



Why an upgrade at all? Is there anything Apple inc. can put inside a phone that will make true fans want to change their phones? Indeed there is. First of all, the A5 dual core processor, same as in iPad2. Secondly, a dual core graphic processor that allows 7 times better graphic performance that game players will benefit most of. Next advantage and improvement is in case of build-in camera, 8,1 Mpx sensor. New sensor is much faster - you can take the first photo after activation right after 1,1 seconds and the next ones during 0,5 seconds each. The sensor is also more sensitive to light.

Another bonus is a image stabilization utility for the sensor which will be largerly used in 1080p video. There were a lot of rumors about a new NFC chip, but you wont find it in the 4S. As this is only a revision of iPhone4, there are no changes in the design, size or display size or quality or build quality of the case.

Not much has changes in the production line when it comes to versions. There will be 16,32,64GB versions with prices in the US (199,299,399) USD in case of 2 year commitment. New version will be availble sooner than you think - 14th october is the date. All older models will have a price dropdown so if you couldnt afford an older model you can buy it now.

Apple also announced that the battery life is significantly improved. 8 hours for 3G calls, 14 hours for 2G calls, 9 hours for wifi web browsing, 10 hours of movie watching or 40 hours of listening to music. iPhone 4S will have a GSM and CDMA antenna which will be autoswitched.
Part of the conference were dedicated to the SIRI function which are basically voice commands to phone that respond by voice and display info also on screen. Applicable for example for navigation, weather forecasts reading text messages etc.



iOS 5 and iCloud were also mentioned - iCloud with 5GB of storage will be available for free with extra charge for extra space. For completion iCloud is a tool for simple sharing of documents, photos and apps between all your Apple devices. It will be therefore available not only for iPhone but also for iPad, iPod Touch and older iPhones. 

---

Over 4 million business's benefit

Google  Apps simple and powerful communication & collaboration tools for organisations of any size are making Google the best email program choice for over 4 million businesses across the globe.

Fortix are an authorised Google Apps reseller offering a painless, simple approach to migrating to the cloud and enjoying the benefits of Google's top quality interactive tools for up to 1/10th the cost. http://www.fortix.com.au/google_apps

---

Video - more than a sales message

Check out this beautiful video, brilliantly produced by Lush TV, lifting the profile of the business and effectively communicating the college's message. Visit www.perthcollege.com.au to view.

---

Is Australia missing the Productivity Wave?

The Productivity Scorecard released by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that Australian business productivity is slipping. Comparisons to the international community in The Global Competitive Report  2009/10 showed Australia in 15th position and in the forecast for 2011/12 Australia drops to 20th.

 Switzerland: Switzerland retains its 1st place position, characterized by an excellent capacity for innovation and a very sophisticated business culture, ranked 4th for its business sophistication and 2nd for its innovation capacity. Switzerland’s scientific research institutions are among the world’s best, and the strong collaboration between the academic and business sectors, combined with high company spending on R&D, ensures that much of this research is translated into marketable products and processes, reinforced by strong intellectual property protection and government support of innovation through its procurement processes.

Australia is reported as lagging behind the top performers of the GCI when it comes to innovation (22nd) and business sophistication (29th), two critical drivers of competitiveness for advanced economies.  

The real challenge Australian businesses – and government face  – is to start harnessing not selling overseas our new technology and innovations.  Encouraging businesses to take up the latest technologies like  cloud computing & innovative business systems will deliver productivity gains and efficiencies.

The tools are available; online office apps, advanced emailing, Customer Relation Management services (CRM), secure management platforms, delivering major improvements in the way we work within our businesses and with clients, suppliers and contractors.

As business owners and managers we need to be adopting new technologies and reaping the benefit of the next productivity wave or in today's international world we will be left behind.

---

The new way of storage by Apple

As the Apple company presents "This is the cloud the way it should be: automatic and effortless." iCloud is seamlessly integrated into your apps, so you can access your content on all your devices.

iCloud should automatically stores your music, photos, also your apps and much more. It automatically wirelessly pushes all these data to all your devices.

iCloud should be much more than just a hard drive in the sky. It’s the effortless way to access just about everything on all your devices. iCloud stores your content so it’s always accessible from your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.* It gives you instant access to your music, apps, latest photos, and more. And it keeps your email, contacts, and calendars up to date across all your devices. No syncing required. No management required. In fact, no anything required. iCloud does it all for you.

Available Space

When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. And that’s plenty of room, because of the way iCloud stores your content. Your purchased music, apps, books, and TV shows, as well as your Photo Stream, don’t count against your free storage. Since your mail, documents, Camera Roll, account information, settings, and other app data don’t use as much space, you’ll find that 5GB goes a long way. And if you need more storage, you can easily purchase a storage upgrade right from your device.

Short list of features

Photo stream

With iCloud, when you take a photo on one device, it automatically appears on all your other devices. No syncing. No sending. Your photos are just there. You can simply take a photo with iOS device or import a photo from digital camera into Mac or PC. Then new photos are automatically sent to iCloud and pushed into all your devices.
iCloud helps you manage your photos efficiently so you don’t run out of storage space on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. When photos are sent to your iOS device, they appear in a Photo Stream album that holds a rolling collection of your last 1000 photos. iCloud stores new photos for 30 days, so you have plenty of time to connect your device to Wi-Fi and get your most recent shots. Once they appear in your Photo Stream, you can save your favorite shots to your Camera Roll or any other album on your device.

Documents

If you have the same app on more than one device, iCloud can automatically keep your documents up to date across all your devices. So you don't have to.
Apps make it possible to create amazing presentations, write reports, and more right from your iOS device. You don't have to manage your documents in a complicated file system or remember to save your work. Your documents are just there, stored in your apps, and ready whenever you need them. And now, your apps can store that information in iCloud. Which means you can access your documents — with your latest updates — on whichever device you happen to be using at the time. Even better, this all happens automatically, without any effort from you.

Apps, Books and Backup

iCloud makes sure all your devices have the same apps. And books. iCloud also backs up your information. So if something happens, it can help save the day.

You download a lot of apps. And now you can see them in one convenient place: your purchase history on the App Store. Since you’ve already purchased these apps, you can download them again — at no additional charge — to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. And when you purchase new apps, you can have iCloud automatically push them to all your devices.

You have all sorts of important stuff on your iOS device. iCloud automatically backs it up daily over Wi-Fi. But rather than backing up your information from scratch, iCloud uploads only what you’ve changed. It’s quick and efficient, and it makes Backup like everything else in iCloud: convenient and completely effortless.

iCloud backs up your: Purchased music, apps, and books, Photos and video in the Camera Roll, Device settings, App data, Home screen and app organization, Text and MMS messages and Ringtones.

 

iCloud should be available this fall and it should be free with iOS5. Despite the fact that the whole iCloud is really "Apple-oriented" because you have to pay for everything which is not produced by Apple (like other music streams than iTunues), it seems to be quite a helpful feature.

---

Sign-A-Rama Case Study

Craig Mason – SIGNARAMA: Joondalup and Malaga

The Company:

“We’re growing with the SIGNARAMA franchise.”

Craig Mason, and business partners Shane Craig and Richard Angerson, recognised an exciting opportunity with SIGNARAMA when they opened their Joondalup store more than ten years ago. The company has grown to become a fixture in the local business community and opened a second store in Malaga during August 2011.

A dedication to best business practice and customer service excellence has fuelled growth. The company has picked up local business awards and the Joondalup store has been inducted to the SIGNARAMA Hall of Fame.

The Problem:

“Manual business processes and inflexible systems were driving down productivity and acting as an impediment to growth.”

As the business grew over the years, Craig recognised a need to streamline processes and improve productivity. Quoting a job was a two day process requiring consultants to travel to and from the client before a cost estimate could be produced. As a solution, Craig began moving the business to the cloud. An online account Fortix business management tool platform and Google’s cloud-based email and document management services were brought in to support operations.

Realising the new system would only take their vision halfway; Craig began evaluating the technologies that would enable a truly mobile business.

The Solution:

“Tablets allow us to address customer needs and do more in real-time, and access business information in the cloud.”

Equipping consultants with Samsung GALAXY tablets on the Vodafone network allowed the franchisee to be completely mobile without a large initial overhead.

SIGNARAMA can now quote on location using its cloud-basedFortix system and the My Measures and Dimensions Android app. With the inbuilt camera installed on the Samsung GALAXY Tab and My Measures and Dimensions app, consultants are able to take photos and record measurements onto the image, adding dimensions with arrows, angles and text. Client correspondence and account details can also be accessed on the fly using the Samsung GALAXY Tab, allowing consultants to be productive when on the road.

The Results:

“A cloud based Fortix solution and 3G tablets let us quote, invoice and manage projects as they happen in the field.”

The benefits were immediate. Customers are ‘wowed’ with the level of responsiveness and turn-around enabled by the combination of business applications and tablets on the Vodafone network. The time it takes to quote a job has been reduced from two days to 2 hours.

This new found mobility has provided opportunities for the business to grow. Attributing the opening of its new Malaga store to the new cloud based system, Craig commented: “Being mobile and in the cloud has provided the basis for our expansion into a second location – a testimony to innovative thinking and customer focus.”

http://www.perthsigns.com

---

Ultra low-cost tables outbreak will soon hit the market

Market analytics predict, that this autumn will be rich in releases of low cost (aprox 250 dollars) tablets. The basic question is simply which one will reach the throne of all sales.

Some analytics think it will be the already announced tablet from Amazon which will be supplied with Android OS. The device should be equipped with a 9" touch screen. The final price will not exceed 299$. This tablet will be probably available from October and the main advantage is not its price but the available content supported in a similar manner as Apples. Amazons strategy can be that the tablet is sold for dumping prices and selling the content will be the way how to profit on it.



An IDC analyic says that the ecosystem of Amazon is similar to that of Apple as they both have multimedia stores with music, movies and ebooks. Thats why they can offer the tablet for a lower price and outperform Apple on this  field and be the new number one on the market.

Another companies are preparing their tablets for the market as well. Lenovo has announced a cheap 7 inch tablet called IdeaPad A1 on Android. Its cost is 199$ which makes it the cheapest tablet from a mainstream brand producer. Important role on the market will be played by older models which will be available in sales as for Galaxy Tab from samsung, which sale started in 2010 for 600$ is after introduction of new models now available for only 280$. Last week Toshiba has introduced a new tablet called AT200 with new Android HoneyComb optimized for use on tablets. The predicted price is around 200-300$.
Lenovo has counted with the older version of Android GingerBread which was optimized and widely used among smartphones.

The markets favorite today is the HP TouchPad, with the temporarily lowered end price of 99 dollars (valid until end of stock). It has been announed that the production will continue at least until the end of october because of great demand for the product. The price is almost always the number one decision maker and as the product is planed to be opened for Android OS it might get even bigger attention.

The global trend is that all companies except for apple will probably lower their tablet prices and make them more available for less wealthy. Apple will keep its prices as they have build themselves a name of the star of the tablet category and are perceived just like that and nurish from it. It can be compared to a car. Apple iPad (with 68% of the tablet marked) is the rolce royce and the cheaper tablets are the Hyundai.

It is predicted that lowering prices of tablets will be the ignition to the end of the era of PCs as we see them today and that human interface and current control options will be greatly extended with use of tablets. Lets hope that we will see a more interactive and dynamic world with massive use of tablets soon.

---

Tracking your online sales conversion just got easier

Google Analytics Introduce Multi-Channel Funnels

Helping to discover the untapped opportunities in your conversion path.


A set of five new reports in Google Analytics gives marketers insight into the full path to conversion over a 30 day period, not simply the last click. By looking at interactions across most digital media channels, including clicks from paid and organic searches, affiliates, social networks, and display ads, you can understand how different channels work together to create sales and conversions. http://analytics.blogspot.com/2011/08/introducing-multi-channel-funnels.html

---